This patent application claims priority based on a Japanese patent application, H11-232053 filed on Aug. 18, 1999, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicular lamp including a back cover. More particularly, the present invention relates to a structure for retaining power supply cords for the vehicular lamp.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, as shown in FIG. 5, a vehicular lamp such as a headlamp is formed with a lamp body 102 having an opening 102a for exchanging a light source bulb. The lamp body 102 is also formed with an annular wall 102b at the peripheral of the opening 102a. A back cover 104 is designed to be attached to the annular wall 102b to cover the opening 102a. As shown in FIG. 5, the conventional vehicular lamp includes a power supply cord 106 running in the vicinity of the annular wall 102b. 
With respect to the conventional type of vehicular lamp as described above, there may be a problem where the power supply cord 106 is caught by the lamp and a vehicle body when the lamp is attached to the vehicle body. Therefore, the lamp includes a boss 102c in the vicinity of the annular wall 102b of the lamp body 102 to regulate the position of the power supply cord 106 so that the cord is prevented from displacing apart from the annular wall 102b. The lamp further includes a washer 110 fixed to the boss 102c by a screw 112, for controlling the power supply cord 106 in order not to pop up from the desired position defined by the annular wall 102b and the boss 102c. 
However, with respect to the above conventional vehicular lamp, the washer 110 and the screw 112 are required to retain the power supply cord 106 in order not to pop out of the desired position. Accordingly, as many parts are required, manufacturing cost for the conventional vehicular lamp is high.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicular lamp having a structure in which power supply cords are not caught by the lamp and a vehicle body when the lamp is attached to the vehicle body, without increasing the number of required parts.
The present invention relates to a vehicular lamp having a structure in which power supply cords are retained so as not to deviate from the desired position, by using a back cover for the lamp.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, a vehicular lamp includes: a light source bulb; a lamp body having a rear wall portion formed with an opening and an annular wall surrounding a periphery of the opening; a back cover attached to the annular wall to cover the opening; a power supply cord running in the vicinity of the annular wall and connecting to the light source bulb; and a cord retaining structure projecting from the rear wall portion of the lamp body in the vicinity of the annular wall, the retaining structure engaging with the power supply cord.
According to a second aspect of the invention, in the vehicular lamp, the retaining structure includes a first retaining member and a second retaining member separate from each other by a predetermined distance therebetween.
According to a third aspect of the invention, in the vehicular lamp, the first retaining member comprises a boss projecting from the rear wall portion of the lamp body and the second retaining member comprises a hook which is formed like a reverse L-shape and its tip end pointing to the annular wall.
According to a fourth aspect of the invention, in the vehicular lamp, the retaining structure further comprises a third retaining member disposed between the first and second retaining members and the light source bulb.
According to a fifth aspect of the invention, in the vehicular lamp, the back cover comprises a restricting flange extending over the power supply cord in the middle of the first retaining member and the second retaining member.
According to a sixth aspect of the invention, in the vehicular lamp, the back cover further comprises a rib extending from substantially the center thereof to the restricting flange.
According to a seventh aspect of the invention, in the vehicular lamp, the retaining structure comprises at least one wall extending along the annular wall.
According to an eighth aspect of the invention, in the vehicular lamp, the retaining structure comprises a plurality of walls extending along the annular wall.
According to a ninth aspect of the invention, in the vehicular lamp, the back cover comprises a restricting flange extending over the power supply cord.
According to a tenth aspect of the invention, in the vehicular lamp, the back cover further comprises a rib extending from substantially the center thereof to the restricting flange.
According to an eleventh aspect of the invention, in the vehicular lamp, the wall comprises a cut-out portion.
According to a twelfth aspect of the invention, in the vehicular lamp, the retaining structure is formed integrally with the rear wall portion of the lamp body by injection molding.
According to a thirteenth aspect of the invention, in the vehicular lamp, the restricting flange is formed integrally with the back cover by injection molding.
According to a fourteenth aspect of the invention, in the vehicular lamp, the restricting flange is formed integrally with the back cover by injection molding.
According to a fifteenth aspect of the-invention, the vehicular lamp further includes a clip member engaging with the power supply cord and disposed between the retaining structure and the light source bulb.
According to a sixteenth aspect of the invention, the vehicular lamp further includes a first lamp chamber installing therein a first light source bulb and a second lamp chamber formed adjacent to the first lamp chamber and installing therein a second light source bulb, wherein the power supply cord connects to the first light source bulb.
According to a seventeenth aspect of the invention, the vehicular lamp further includes a first lamp chamber installing therein a first light source bulb and a second lamp chamber formed adjacent to the first lamp chamber and installing therein a second light source bulb, wherein the power supply cord connects to both the first light source bulb and the second light source bulb.
According to an eighteenth aspect of the invention, in the vehicular lamp, the boss is conical with its top cut off.
As described above, the vehicular lamp according to the present invention has a structure in which power supply cords run in the vicinity of an annular wall, which receives a back cover. The lamp includes a retaining structure for securing the position of the power supply cords in order to prevent the cords from deviating apart from the annular wall. The back cover is formed with a restricting flange for restricting the power supply cords in order to prevent the cords from popping out of the desired position between the annular wall and the retaining structure. Therefore, when the lamp is attached to a vehicle body, the power supply cords are not caught by the lamp and the vehicle body.
As described above, the vehicular lamp according to the present invention has a retaining structure for the power supply cords which requires few parts or no additional part, which ensures that the power supply cords are not caught by the lamp and the vehicle body.
In the above structure, two parts of the retaining structures for fixing the position of the power supply cords may be formed along the periphery of the annular wall which are spaced from each other by a predetermined distance. The restricting flange of the back cover is formed at a position between two parts of the retaining structure, to reliably regulate the power supply cords and prevent it from popping out.
The xe2x80x9cpower supply cordsxe2x80x9d may be connected to a light source bulb installed in a center lamp chamber positioned in front of the opening or may be connected to another light source bulb installed in a chamber adjacent to the center lamp chamber. When the power supply cords are connected to the light source bulb installed in the latter chamber, the power supply cords can easily be set running.
The above summary of the invention does not necessarily describe all necessary features of the present invention. The present invention may also be a sub-combination of the above described features. The above and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.